Palestinians protest in support of hunger striker 370.(Photo by: REUTERS)

Live fire hurts 2 Palestinians in W. Bank clashes

By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV LAPPIN02/22/2013

IDF source says 2 rioters hurt by Israeli live fire; activists gather throughout West Bank in solidarity with hunger-strikers.

Two Palestinian rioters were shot with Israeli live
bullets as clashes in the West Bank continued on Friday evening.

The two were wounded by what an army source described as precision live fire, one in Beitunia and one in Hebron. The source said that the fire was directed at the legs of ring leaders and lightly wounded the two. The type of weapon used, according to the source, was a .22 caliber rifle. Both instances of live fire were approved by commanders in the field.

In a conflicting account of the incidents, a Reuters correspondent tweeted that the two Palestinians had been shot in the chest, and were seriously wounded. The two were rushed to hospital
in serious condition, according to the report. Palestinian ambulance
drivers said the shootings happened in Budrus and Nabi Saleh.

Palestinian,
Israeli and international activists gathered across the West Bank
throughout the day in support of hunger-striking detainees in Israeli
prisons. Dozens of Palestinians threw stones at security forces in
Hebron and Jerusalem, as clashes broke out near the Ofer Prison and Nabi
Saleh, Army Radio reported.

The Hebron rally is partially in
solidarity with the hunger strikers and partially a call for Israel to
re-open the city’s Shuhada Street to Palestinian traffic. The
demonstration also marks 19 years have since Baruch Goldstein murdered
29 Muslim worshipers on Purim in 1994.

Israel security services
had increased their alert level ahead of the demonstrations, with police
deployed in villages in east Jerusalem as well as the Old City in
preparation for Friday prayers.

Palestinian youths following
Friday prayers threw stones at security forces stationed on the Temple
Mount. There were no injuries, according to police.

Hundreds of
protesters also gathered at the Beitunia checkpoint next to Ofer Prison,
located outside Ramallah, where several Palestinian inmates are on a
hunger strike. Some thirty Palestinians were hurling rocks at soldiers, an army source said.

According to activist tweets, IDF troops used riot dispersal methods such as firing tear gas canisters to quieten the protests. Fifteen injuries were reported among Palestinian rioters from rubber bullets in in the area.

Meanwhile
on Friday, three Palestinians on hunger-strike were evacuated to
hospital, Palestinian news agency Ma'an quoted a prison services
spokeswoman as saying.

Dozens of
Palestinians were wounded on Thursday in clashes that broke out with the
IDF during a prolonged protest in support of the Palestinian hunger
strikers that took place next to Ofer Prison, located outside Ramallah.

Palestinians
threw stones at the security forces, and lightly wounded three Israeli
journalists – Nadar Bagdasa and Roy Sharon of Channel 10 and Yoram Cohen
of Channel 1 – during the protest, which lasted from 11 a.m. until the
evening.

According to Abir Kopty, a spokeswoman for the Popular
Struggle Coordination Committee, dozens of Palestinians were injured by
tear gas, rubber bullets and rubber-coated bullets. A temporary clinic
was set up at the site.

She herself was hit in the head by a tear
gas canister, treated in the hospital and then released. While in the
hospital, she said, she counted 10 others who were there with injuries
from the demonstration, including one protester who was hit by live
fire.

The IDF denied that soldiers used live ammunition at Ofer.

The
protest started with a prayer, and quickly turned violent, with
Palestinians throwing stones and rolling burning tires, while soldiers
fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

At times they also used a “skunk truck,” which sprayed foul-smelling water.